


Come with Me, Into the Trees

by oyogihodai (alder_knight)



Category: Free!
Genre: Birthday, Domestic, Established Relationship, Fluff, For the Future Festival (Free!), Hiking, M/M, Swimming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-13
Updated: 2015-08-13
Packaged: 2018-04-14 14:03:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4567305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alder_knight/pseuds/oyogihodai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>The forest was still, but Haru could hear small animals and birds moving in the trees around them. Then he cocked his head towards the opening of the path. His eyes widened. Rin was watching his face, and grinning. Unmistakably, where this path ended, they could hear running water.</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>Rin swung his pack back on. "Come on," he said, grabbing Haru's hand and taking off.</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Come with Me, Into the Trees

**Author's Note:**

> For the Future Festival: Day 3 - Dates, Birthdays; Day 6 - Travel, Sightseeing
> 
> Please take your insulin before ingesting this fic.

The forest smelled of warm pine and wet earth as the path wound deeper into the trees.

"Rin," asked Haruka, "where are we going?"

"Don't worry," said Rin. "You've never seen anything like this before. You're going to love it."

Haru's habitual skepticism was nudged aside by a growing sense of curiosity. It was his birthday, and they were in a new place, on a hike Rin had picked out, with ferns in the understory and tall birches and pines above, treading a red-needled gravel path between granite outcroppings. Occasional mosquitoes flew close, but they didn't make enough of an effort to be much of an annoyance.

The midday sunlight filtered through the branches above to fall dappled on Rin's hair, the soft red glinting like it had been polished. Haru felt compelled to reach out for it. Realizing nothing was stopping him from doing so, he did. As his hand gently traced down the side of Rin's head, Rin straightened up slightly, and slowed his footsteps. He turned enough to flash Haru a smile, but not enough that Haru couldn't reach anymore.

It was nice, Haru thought, to be able to reach out and touch Rin whenever he wanted to. That was one good point for the woods.

"It's humid," he commented absently, wishing he had brought his paper fan.

"We're almost there," Rin replied. "Ten minutes, maybe? Maybe less. I'm not good with miles. But it's less than half a mile, we just passed a sign."

Following dutifully, Haru took out his water bottle and took a careful sip. There was trail mix in his day pack, so he scooped out a handful and picked out the almonds. He got another handful and reached forward, holding his arm out by Rin's shoulder. Rin looked over, also picked out a few of the almonds, and grinned his thanks before tossing them in his mouth and starting down a gradual decline of mixed roots and boulders.

It was interesting how different these woods were, compared to the forests he'd hiked back home. Haru had always preferred ocean over trees, and was not much of a mountaineer. Even so, he was more accustomed to cedar and bamboo than to these white-barked birches. The landscape was somewhat alien, though not in a bad way.

Rin had always been more adventurous than Haruka - that hadn't changed. But Haru was becoming more willing, eager even, to let Rin take him along and show him his favorite sights. 

They crossed a wooden bridge over a low series of creeks, and Haru thought wistfully of the larger river they'd passed on the way here, with sandy banks enclosing dozens of canoes, families having picnics and splashing along the shores. Maybe they could stop for a swim on the way back.

The path ahead was opening up. Rin stopped to pull his ball cap out from his bag, and Haru paused beside him. The forest was still, but he could hear small animals and birds moving in the trees around them. Then he cocked his head towards the opening of the path. His eyes widened. Rin was watching his face, and grinning. Unmistakably, where this path ended, Haru could hear running water.

Rin swung his pack back on. "Come on," he said, grabbing Haru's hand and taking off.

They scrambled the last hundred meters of the forested hiking trail, backpacks thumping on their shoulders. It came out onto an outcropping of rock, in front of which gushed a shallow but powerful stream of water. Haru stared. He hurried around the corner, clear of the trees, where upstream and downstream were visible. It was a steep-graded slope of boulders, along which flowed a cascading series of waterfalls shallow enough to wade into.

Haruka was speechless.

"Amazing, right?" said Rin, face slightly flushed from running with his heavy pack, positively beaming. "There's kids playing down here. Let's hike up a little higher."

Haru hadn’t even noticed the other people.

They made their way up the trail that ran alongside the falls, climbing along stones and muddy paths, until the picnicking families below were completely out of sight and earshot. Haru felt almost giddy. He had to get into the water. "Rin," he began, but Rin was already shrugging off his pack.

"This'll do," Rin said, setting the bag down on a picnic table off beside the trail, overlooking the waterfalls. "Come on, I'll race you in."

They quickly shed their t-shirts and sandals and booked it barefoot down the embankment and onto the rocks. The stream was shallow, so they didn't dive in, but they splashed as they waded over the smooth stones into the rushing path of the water. Haru approached the nearest rock ledge, about three meters high, over which two separate streams of water flowed: one splashing down a series of rocks, and one shooting straight down in a narrow waterfall. He came close enough for the mist to hit his face, put a hand on the wall of stone, and brought his head and shoulders down under the waterfall. He let out an exuberant cry as it pounded over his back, running down his legs and joining the stream where he waded. The water was cold, but the day was warm, and it felt incredible. He felt incredible.

Haru staggered back presently from the relentless flow of the waterspout. He shook out his hair and turned to face Rin, who was watching him with a hand over his mouth, the other crossed across his front. He looked as though he were close to tears.

"Rin," said Haru, alarmed, stepping towards him.

Rin closed the distance between them in three steps and grabbed him in an enormous hug. "Haru," he said, laughing, "happy birthday."

Face hidden in Rin's hair, Haru smiled as well. "Thank you," he said. So this was the place Rin had wanted to show him. “I had no idea."

Rin squeezed him again, kissed him on the mouth, and pulled away. "Alright, get back in the water. I'm going to get lunch ready."

Haru didn't need telling twice. He found a cutout in the rock nearby where a pool formed, about knee-deep. He sank into it like his bathtub at home, up to his chest, leaning against the granite and letting the current sweep across him. He closed his eyes, feeling the water and listening to its sounds.

Presently he became aware of a savory smell mixed with wood smoke wafting around him. He opened his eyes and looked over to see Rin leaning over a permanent iron grill cemented to the ground next to the picnic table, wearing board shorts and an apron. Haru fought back his amusement.

"Rin," he called over, "what are you making?"

"You'll find out," replied Rin, fussing with some plastic containers from his bag. Now his insistence on an overnight-sized pack for a one-kilometer hike made more sense.

Whatever it was, it smelled delicious, and familiar. Haru rose from his wading pool, stretched, and decided to explore and leave the cooking to Rin, for once.

The stream passed through all sorts of rock formations. There were pebbled expanses of smooth water, jagged falls, granite basins, channels carved through stone where water sluiced down like waterslides. Wondering if it would be possible to actually slide down himself, Haru made a mental note to show Rin after they ate.

He wandered and splashed, submerging himself at times, leaning under falls at others, until he heard Rin calling, "Oi, Haru! Food's ready!" He climbed out of the water and onto dry stone, and padded his way down to the picnic table.

Lunch looked and smelled amazing. Rin had marinated mackerel with ginger and lime, and packed it in on ice to grill over the charcoal fire. There were rice balls to go with it, and an aluminum water bottle filled with barley tea.

"I didn't know you could cook fish," marveled Haruka, privately impressed.

"I couldn't," snorted Rin. "I've been… ah… practicing."

Haru looked at him. Rin looked away, face flushing. "Anyway, eat it before it's cold!"

Haru sat down and took the plate Rin had prepared for him. "Thank you for the food," he said, and dug in. It was delicious.

Then, miraculously, Rin carefully produced a small box from his backpack that contained an actual miniature cheesecake. It was a little misshapen - "from running down to the water at the end of the hike," Rin explained ruefully - but nonetheless, it was cheesecake, here in the middle of the woods, at the most wonderfully improbable of birthday picnics.

Rin fumbled in his backpack and produced a candle and lighter. "Okay, hang on."

Haru was dumbstruck. "Rin, you don't have to -"

"Haru, what could possibly have made you think that I had any intention of half-assing _anything_ we did today?" Rin stuck the candle into the middle of the cake and lit it. He cleared his throat.

"Rin, really -"

"Happy birthday to you~," began Rin. He really wasn't much of a singer. 

Haru felt his face growing hot. Rin kept going.

"Happy birthday to you~!" he sang, ending the song.

Haru's chest felt tight.

"Okay, now make a wish and blow it out," instructed Rin, "and do it quick, before we get too much wax in the cake."

Haru blinked at the flickering flame, feeling uncharacteristically affected. _I wish for Rin to never stop showing me sights I've never seen before._ He blew out the candle. Rin applauded.

"I didn't think chopsticks would work for cheesecake, so I have forks around here somew-"

Haru cut him off by covering his mouth with his own. He kissed him gently, slowly, taking his time. "Rin," he said as their mouths parted, closing his arms around Rin's shoulders, "thank you. Really. This… this is… thank you."

Rin's surprise turned to warmth as he leaned into Haru's touch. "It's your birthday," he said, matter-of-factly. "You’re a curmudgeon and I get one day a year to be a total romantic and shower you with attention. I have to take advantage of that." He wrapped his arms around Haru's neck and kissed him. "How’d I do?"

"Rin," Haru replied gravely, "I am very impressed. "

"Good!" said Rin, pulling back enough to stick a fork into the cheesecake and bring a bite up to Haru's mouth. "Because once we finish dessert and tidy all this up, we're going to swim some more, and then we're going to hike back out, and then I booked us a room at the Adventure Suites."

"The what?" Haru said, opening his mouth for the cake.

"Trust me," grinned Rin, "you've never seen anything like this place." He brought a hand up and mussed Haru's damp hair.

_Good_ , thought Haru, savoring the not-too-sweet flavor, not minding Rin's hands ruffling his hair. Whatever new sight Rin wanted to show him, he wanted to see.

**Author's Note:**

> Remind me never to write fluff again. How did I end up with _domestic hiking fluff_? HOW? I cannot be trusted. 
> 
> First person to correctly identify the actual specific location in which this fic is set wins a prize. That prize is that I'll write you a thing. (No pressure if you don't want to play.)
> 
> I don't know why or how Rin and Haru would end up in this particular place, but it really would be an excellent date. 
> 
> Thank you to @redcirce who stayed up appallingly late to edit this for me. redcirce, you are a rockstar. Please go to bed.


End file.
